Beyond Bagels and Balloons: How to Truly Appreciate Your AP Team

For many organizations, accounts payable (AP) is a back-office outpost whose work happens far out of view. But without a well-oiled AP department staffed by knowledgeable professionals, your organization would come to a standstill; imagine not being able to pay vendors or having accurate books to ensure proper forecasts.

AP Recognition Week is the perfect time to acknowledge your back-office team’s contributions and elevate its profile. So, be sure to draw attention to everything that AP does that makes your organization run smoothly and empowers these professionals to thrive.

But recognition doesn’t end there. Go one step further and show your AP team that you believe it has a central role to play in influencing your company’s path toward greater growth and profitability. Give your team the tools it needs to partner with you and achieve more strategic bottom-line initiatives: ease tedious work, prevent mistakes and fraud, gain insights for forecasts, and better manage working capital for increased cash flow.

Give AP time for more meaningful work

Your AP team would love to reduce dull, manual work like keying in invoices, printing check runs, emailing approval reminders, and tracking down payments. Look to show appreciation by equipping them with powerful tools to reduce manual work and speed up workflows, so they can spend more time on fulfilling work that contributes to career advancement.

AP automation is quickly becoming a top solution as businesses of all sizes move away from manual, paper-based systems. Say goodbye to lost receipts, printed invoices, check runs, and stamps.

Automating such tasks isn’t just a morale booster – it benefits the whole organization. With more time, team members can focus on higher-reward projects. In fact, organizations that create exceptional employee experiences see 21% higher productivity and 24% lower turnover, according to Gallup State of the Global Workplace survey. And when invoices take up to 75% less time to process, you’ll have a happier, more productive team.

The digital transformation of AP is key to advancing strategic growth initiatives. Automation in AP gives organizations the ability to standardize data collection and obtain valuable insights that drive smarter decision-making. For example, seeing the frequency of invoices to a particular vendor can help you negotiate discounts – freeing up working capital that can be reallocated to other growth opportunities.

Help them improve their skills

In today’s tight labor market, top talent has many choices when it comes to employers. By investing in your AP team’s careers, you can make your company stand out as a great place to work. Whether you want to bring in professional development opportunities or connect them with outside conferences, continuing education, and webinars, you’ll be doing your staff and organization a favor – employers without learning and growth opportunities risk losing employees.

The SAP Concur team can help.

1. Encourage your AP team to attend our webinar. Our free one-hour educational webinar will teach your AP team the tips and tricks they need to become a more valuable strategic partner. Even better: they’ll earn 1 CPE credit for their live attendance.
2. Provide them with a bigger toolbox. Visit our AP Recognition Week center, which includes lots of content to help your AP team take on a greater strategic role in your organization, including:
   • A new quiz to take alongside your staff to identify ways to optimize AP
   • Our recently updated Vendor Invoice Policy Template, and
   • An article for AP professionals on how to level up their careers
3. Sign up to join the SAP Concur community. Connect with thousands of your peers to find success through our online digital community. We have several ways you can exchange tips and tricks, forge connections, and learn how to solve the challenges facing your organization.

4 more ways to show your appreciation

Need more ideas to show how much you value your AP team?

1. Write a simple thank you note: In our digital world, never underestimate the value of a handwritten thank you.
2. Encourage them to go to events: In-person and digital events allow your AP team to have continuing education and professional development opportunities. Look for regular user groups or leadership councils within your region to ensure your AP team has the knowledge to transform your organization.
3. Give them leadership opportunities: Invite AP team members to sit in on leadership meetings to share their ideas and insights. Encourage them to dive into SAP Concur solutions dashboards and reports to find new ways to better support the business, whether it’s through cost savings, training opportunities, or identifying and removing workflow blockages.  
4. Don’t forget the bagels and balloons: Who are we kidding? The way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach, and AP is no different. Bring on the party.

For your AP professionals, sharing is caring

Sharing knowledge and best practices is a key part of how AP professionals help their organizations address critical business challenges. Don’t hesitate to share the links in here with your AP team to let them know you’re thinking about them and support them.

And don’t forget to give your AP staff time to attend our free live webinar on Tuesday, October 5 so they can earn a CPE credit. They’ll learn best practices from industry leaders and hear about the latest tools that allow them to do their jobs even better.

Share our registration link and get ready to hear the great new ideas your AP team has to help your organization rise to the next level.